by Joanne Rock
Ursula Le Guin passed away this week, and it got me thinking
about her wonderful books, and her thoughts about writing. When I read The Left Hand of Darkness, I was blown
away by how much I loved it. I wasn’t sure it would be my “kind” of book—a
story set in an alien world with its own rules, it’s science fiction or, some
say, speculative fiction. I’ve never read much of either.
But with a wonderful story, genre never matters. Good
storytelling transcends genre, drawing us in to the protagonist’s story, making
us care about the world and the stakes. With The Left Hand of Darkness, it didn’t
matter that I was in an alien world. The drama was human enough, and I cared
deeply about what was happening. Not only did I love the book, I thought about
it for years afterward, and what it said about the effect of sex and gender on a
culture.
If all that Le Guin had given me, that would have been generous
enough. But the gifts kept coming as, later in life, I stumbled on her thoughts
on writing. She sheds insightful light on why the often-repeated “rule” of
writing, “show don’t tell,” is detrimental advice to a more seasoned writer.
Thanks to “show don’t tell,” I find
writers in my workshops who think exposition is wicked. They’re afraid to describe
the world they’ve invented. (I make them read the first chapter of The Return of the Native,,, (On Rules of Writing)
She goes on to
de-bunk other over-simplified writing advice in a way that helped me to marry
my joy in romance and modern genre fiction with my deep love of literature. Her
words gave permission to unapologetically dive into narrative paragraphs. To really
set a scene and a mood by dipping deeply into a character’s thoughts, without
worrying how fast I’d get back to action and dialogue.
Writers like
Janet Evanovich do this all the time, even though we think of her Stephanie
Plum books as full of action and fabulous dialogue. She starts High Five with a
great paragraph about why being a bounty hunter is like going through life without
underwear. It’s funny and vivid, and it gives us a snapshot of the character’s
thoughts before we have any idea about the action.
“Telling” is not
the root of storytelling evil. It’s an integral part of it, and one that I very
much enjoy. So thank you, Ursula Le Guin, not just for your amazing books, but for
all the writing wisdom you took time to share. I’ll leave you with a few other
Le Guin gems for you to enjoy today:
* It
is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in
the end.
* Love
doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all
the time, made new.
* When
you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.
***Any writers whose work you
return to time and time again? Or any classic books that stood out for you in
your English classes that were really memorable? Share with me today and I’ll send
one random commenter a signed copy of my December Desire, His Pregnant Secretary. My current release, if you’re interested in
taking a peek, is January’s Claiming His Secret Heir!
